The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (June 30, 2006)Includes bibliographical references.Vita.Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2004.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Fisheries and wildlife.North America's tallgrass prairie region is one of the world's most endangered ecosystems. Recent management and research efforts have focused on the effects of anthropogenic change to upland components of the tallgrass prairie, however, little is known regarding change to riparian vegetation. Nevertheless, riparian vegetation habitat plays a significant role in the conservation of both terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity; furthermore, anthropogenic modifications to this system have often occurred before the onset of modern ecological inventories. As a result, managers, planners, and policy makers often make decisions that impact riparian vegetation without sufficient information regarding presettlement vegetation. To provide data that can be used in the decision-making process, we developed and evaluated a technique to characterize historic and contemporary riparian vegetation, within a Geographic Information System (GIS). The methodology provides an objective, scientific approach to providing the necessary data to make informed management, planning, and restoration decisions regarding riparian systems. Our findings suggest that, contrary to previous research and speculation, historic riparian zones contained a significant amount of prairie, and that the extent varied among watersheds. We found no remaining riparian prairie today. This research contributes baseline data to facilitate the evaluation of vegetation change and the success of management and restoration efforts
